Roger Clemens on Dale & Holley with Keefe: I played baseball 'the right way'

While Roger Clemens continues to see his Baseball Hall of Fame vote total rise, he's still a long ways from getting in. And at this stage in his life, it appears as if the 354-game winner is OK with that.

In an interview on Dale & Holley with Rich Keefe, Clemens, who's calling Friday's Red Sox game against the Astros on WEEI, said he tries to ignore the voting process each year. He did mention a couple of times, however, that he played the game the "right way" –– perhaps a tacit defense of his alleged steroid use.

"I can’t control it one bit," he said. "Each year that it goes on, I don’t pay attention to it, but obviously I get phone calls and texts and emails from a lot of people all over the country –– and a lot of nice letters and calls to my foundation. I appreciate it; I have no control over it. I appreciate the people that pay attention to details and how I went about my work. Like I said, I think I did it the right way and went out there and did what I had to do. I did it the right way. I have no control over that."

The seven-time Cy Young award winner currently works for his hometown Astros as a special assistant, stopping by Spring Training and the ballpark. Clemens said pitchers across the league, including Jon Lester, often ask him for advice, which propels him to watch multiple games per night. Chris Sale is one of the hurlers who's impressed Clemens most this season, especially when it comes to the movement on his pitches.

"He looks extremely focused," Clemens explained. "I thought it was interesting –– I think it was last night, I was able to catch a couple of innings when I got home –– he had a slider that he was dropping down on his feet. It wasn’t a power slider, it was more of a changeup slider with more break that he was featuring, too. I’ve gotta tell you: there’s not a start that goes by –– I have a couple of friends who are really huge Red Sox fans down here –– I’ll get a text, ‘Sale’s on the mound and he’s got five strikeouts out of six guys.' ... He’s got it going on, and like I said, he’s fun to watch, too. I don’t know if he throws anything straight.

David Price, who owns a 5.09 ER this season, hasn't been nearly as effective in his four starts. But Clemens says there's no reason to worry.

"I think when you’re that high-level, and you’re not performing where you want to be, it gets down to you," Clemens said. "[You have to] take one step back, and take two giants step forward, and continue on. What a treat you all have to watch somebody like Price pitch up there ––lefties that really have at least one wipeout pitch. Those guys are pretty dynamic and fun to watch. Obviously, he’s got to get it together, you’re right. He’s one of those guys. You’ve got two of them right there, and hopefully Porcello can get going."